News Details

Live Re-Creation of The Maltese Falcon on Radio

The Big Read Finale Event

The Oceanside Public Library will conclude its Big Read program series with a live re-creation of The Maltese Falcon on radio. This free program will take place on Saturday, March 1, 2014, at 3:00 p.m. in the Civic Center Library Community Rooms, located at 330 N. Coast Highway. The public is invited to experience what live studio audiences enjoyed in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s in Hollywood, Chicago, and New York.

During the Golden Days of Radio, radio audiences enjoyed comedies, audio versions of their favorite current movies with actual movie stars, and dramatic versions of well- known stories from favorite books. The Library will present a live re-creation of the radio version of the 1946 Maltese Falcon, along with sound effects and actors. Some of the actors who will be participating in this event include Tommy Cook, the original “Little Beaver” in “The Adventures of Red Rider” serial at Republic Studios; Gloria McMillan, who played Harriet Conklin in “Our Miss Brooks;” John and Larry Glassman, vintage radio program producers; Jerry Williams, from the “Doc Savages” serials; and Old Time Radio actor, Ron Cocking.

The library has hosted a series of special events and book discussions throughout February in order to promote a citywide read of The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett. The novel is considered by many to be the standard against which all subsequent detection fiction would be judged. For more information on the Big Read Finale, please call Monica Chapa Domercq at 760-435-5586. For more information on Library programs and services, visit http://www.oceansidepubliclibrary.orgor call 760-435-5600.

The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts, designed to revitalize the role of literature in American culture and to encourage citizens to read for pleasure and enlightenment. The Big Read is managed by Arts Midwest.